MX23RW : Tuesday, March 19 10:24:22| >> :600:83100417:83100417:

Sky One to close after 39 years as Sky shakes up channel lineup

Sky One to close after 39 years as Sky shakes up channel lineup
© Sky
Sky is to replace Sky One with a new channel called Sky Showcase in the latest realignment of its channel portfolio.

Sky has announced that it is closing down Sky One and launching a new channel called Sky Showcase in the latest realignment of its channel portfolio.

The new service will take over Sky One's plum 106 slot on the Sky EPG and will aim to highlight programming from across all of Sky's channels, including Sky Atlantic, Sky Cinema and Sky Arts, in a similar fashion to the Sky Sports Main Event channel.

The Simpsons - a staple of Sky One's schedules over its lifetime - will migrate to Sky Showcase after Sky One's closure.

Sky Max logo© Sky

A new channel, Sky Max, will launch to house Sky One's general entertainment programming such as A League of Their Own and dramas such as A Discovery of Witches. The station will launch on Sky EPG number 113, demoting Sky Comedy down the listings.

The genre-specific channels launched over the last two years - including Sky Crime, Sky Documentaries, Sky Comedy and Sky Nature - will all remain alongside Sky History, Sky Witness, Sky Arts and Sky Atlantic, while the Sky Replay channel will be dropped.

"We'd like to think of it as a bit of a time for a reset," Jamie Morris, Sky's director of programming strategy, told Variety. "It's been a really successful year [for Sky One], so the content is stronger than ever. We just want to make our portfolio offering as clear as possible to customers."

The new channels will launch on September 1, coinciding with the premiere of the Never Mind The Buzzcocks revival and the return of The Russell Howard Hour.

Sky's non-branded channels - Challenge, Syfy and E! - are all expected to continue for the foreseeable future.

Sky One launched in Europe in 1982 - six months ahead of Channel 4 - under the original name Satellite Television, before being rebranded Sky Channel in 1984 and then Sky One in 1989.

New Sky EPG numbers in full - effective September 1:

Sky Showcase – 106
Sky Max - 113
Sky Witness – 107
Sky Atlantic – 108
Sky Comedy - 114
Sky Documentaries - 121
Sky Crime - 122
Sky History - 123
Sky Nature - 124
Sky Arts - 130
E! – 151
SyFy - 152

ID:457140:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect3077:

Follow us on X/Twitter and like us on Facebook for the latest entertainment news alerts.

Media Mole Limited-Time Offer: Get Sky Cinema, Sky Stream & Netflix for just £27 a month + £0 upfront fee for 18 months!
Prices may change during this period. Ends 21st March 2024


Click here for more stories about Jamie Morris

Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Channel 4 logo
Read Next:
Channel 4 announces comedy pilot for Black To Front day
>
Read more about Jamie Morris Entertainment
rhs 2.0
New TV Picks header

Friday, March 15


Celebrity Big Brother: Live Eviction: ITV1, 9pm
With just one week to go, time to get whittling down those numbers further...

Comic Relief: Funny For Money: BBC One, from 7pm
Hosts include Davina McCall, David Tennant, Joel Dommett - and for the last time ever, Sir Lenny Henry

RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs the World: BBC Three, 9pm
Motsi Mabuse, Janette Manrara and Aljaz Skorjanec guest star for this week's challenge - Strictly Come Prancing...

Coronation Street: ITV1, 8pm
Roy is arrested on suspicion of the murder of Lauren Bolton